It wasn’t supposed to be this way. Republicans in Washington wanted North Carolina House Speaker Thom Tillis to quickly win the party’s Senate nomination and focus entirely on vulnerable Democratic incumbent Kay Hagan. Instead, Tillis faces a May 6 primary that’s so crowded it may be hard for any candidate to muster the 40 percent needed to avoid a mid-July runoff. The race also pits two leaders -- Kentucky U.S. Senators Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul -- against each other in a proxy battle over the party’s future. Tillis must balance support from national Republicans against the Tea Party’s anti-Washington...

Let it be known! Just as Karl Rove did in 2010 and 2012, this festering wart is working behind the scenes to destroy any hopes of grassroots victory in 2014, even if it means destroying any hopes of GOP victory in 2014. It's a small price to pay for money-grubbing uber-RINO, Karl Marx Rove. There are three races in which the grassroots is energized to win the Republican primary with a fresh face. Kentucky, North Carolina, and Mississippi And aside from that, there are seven other states in which the campaigns have not been managed as well, have been divided,...

A quiet but intense struggle over money and influence is roiling the Republican Party just as the 2014 election season is getting underway. At least a dozen “super PACs” are setting up to back individual Republican candidates for the United States Senate, challenging the strategic and financial dominance that Karl Rove and the group he co-founded, American Crossroads, have enjoyed ever since the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision in 2010 cleared the way for unlimited independent spending. In wooing donors, the new groups — in states like Texas, Iowa, West Virginia and Louisiana — are exploiting Crossroads’ poor showing in...

Karl Rove has been working overtime trying to reassure the conservative wing of the GOP that some of his best friends are tea partyers. On Bill O’Reilly’s Fox News show last week, Rove played up his credentials with the right by asserting that he headed Ronald Reagan’s 1980 presidential campaign in Texas. As it turns out, not so much. In fact, as we reported in some detail in the book Bush’s Brain, Rove worked for George H.W. Bush against Reagan in the state’s 1980 primary. And others directly involved in the Reagan effort in the Lone Star State say Rove...

Mark Levin blasted Karl Rove tonight for claiming he’s supported conservative candidates when in fact it’s only after they won the primaries. Levin points out that it’s the Tea Party, the American people that are working hard to elect solid conservatives in these tough primaries and Rove isn’t a part of that. Just like in the case of Ted Cruz, Levin says Cruz got nominated because of the American people, not Rove...

fter smearing movement conservative icon Brent Bozell as a "hater" who has a "sordid history of hating Karl Rove," Jonathan Collegio of American Crossroads mocked a group of prominent conservatives who wrote a letter to Crossroads GPS President Steven Law demanding Collegio be fired. “I’ve been trying to get my friends to sign it, because it’ll make for a funnier story once I get it framed,” Collegio said, in response to the letter to the Washington Examiner. “It would be flattering, if it weren’t so absurd.” In an interview with Breitbart News editor Larry O'Connor on WMAL's "Mornings on the...

A bristling group of 25 traditional conservatives are out to protect one of their own in a new push against the “establishment Republicans” of Karl Rove’s American Crossroads. The coalition has sent a letter of protest to Steven Law, president of the super-duper PAC, following an interview with the organization’s spokesman that aired Wednesday on a talk radio station in the nation’s capital: “We cannot and will not abide the unjust, personal broadside your aide Jonathan Collegio leveled against a man whose family has dedicated itself to advancing the cause of liberty for over half a century. This morning Mr....

Karl Rove may be trying to quell conservative concerns that his new political group is really an effort to crush the tea party. But actions will speak louder than words – and already, Mr. Rove's group may have a test case on its hands. Rove's Conservative Victory Project has a stated goal of making sure only electable candidates emerge victorious from GOP primaries. But he told Fox News Tuesday: "This is not tea party versus the establishment." So what is it? The campaign of Rep. Paul Broun (R) of Georgia, who on Wednesday filed paperwork to run for the seat...

When given the opportunity to rebut the sharp criticism leveled Tuesday by Brent Bozell directed at Karl Rove, Jonathan Collegio of Rove's American Crossroads might have made things worse, if not personal. "Bozell is a hater and he also has a long sordid history hating Karl Rove. He has weird personal axes to grind," said the spokesman for Rove's influential Super PAC.

Conservative radio host Mark Levin went after former George W. Bush advisor, Karl Rove, during his radio show on Monday after Rove announced the formation of a new PAC that would aid moderate Republican politicians against tea party challengers in primary races. Levin called Rove’s effort ‘diabolical’ and listed the many GOP officeholders who would not be in power but for the tea party insurgency. “We’re being stabbed in the back,” Levin declared. “Here’s a project funded by crony capitalists, funded by corporatists — who are not conservative — funding a group called the Conservative Victory Project,” Levin began. “This...

Discredited political consultant, blathering TV talking head, and big-bux fundraiser/PAC-man Karl Rove was once hailed by George W Bush as 'The Architect' in the wake of the 2004 campaign victory he had engineered. In retrospect, we'd probably have been better off in the long-term letting John Kerry try and deal with the earthshaking real estate collapse his Dems' own affirmative-action housing initiatives were soon to bring us. Instead, Rove -as White House Senior Adviser and Deputy Chief-of-Staff- resided over a Bush 2nd-term popularity dive so steep and so politically damaging to the GOP brand that the United States seems to have shifted...

The battle for the heart and soul of the Republican Party has begun. On one side is the Tea Party. On the other side stands Karl Rove and his establishment team, posing as tacticians while quietly undermining conservatism. Yesterday, the New York Times reported that the “biggest donors in the Republican Party” have joined forces with Karl Rove and Steven J. Law, president of American Crossroads, to create the Conservative Victory Project. The Times reports that this new group will dedicate itself to “recruit seasoned candidates and protect Senate incumbents from challenges by far-right conservatives and Tea Party enthusiasts who...

The biggest donors in the Republican Party are financing a new group to recruit seasoned candidates and protect Senate incumbents from challenges by far-right conservatives and Tea Party enthusiasts who Republican leaders worry could complicate the party’s efforts to win control of the Senate. -snip- The Conservative Victory Project, which is backed by Karl Rove and his allies who built American Crossroads into the largest Republican super PAC of the 2012 election cycle, will start by intensely vetting prospective contenders for Congressional races to try to weed out candidates who are seen as too flawed to win general elections.

President Barack Obama and Gov. Mitt Romney may be dead even in the polls, but some pundits insist the president will prevail on Election Day because 2012 is the new 2004. The story line is President George W. Bush had roughly the same numbers at this point in 2004 that Mr. Obama has today. Mr. Bush went on to win a narrow victory by building a massive ground game that focused on the GOP's base and by relentlessly attacking his opponent, Sen. John Kerry. Mr. Obama is executing the same strategy. What worked for Mr. Bush, the theory goes, will...

I haven't watched Fox News Channel since the day Fox and Drudge all went on their Romney brainwashing spree. Today I decided I would watch my television before browsing FR. Tried CNN, and within 15 seconds of turning on the channel there was some "news" about some gay guy. Sure it's possible, maybe something actually did happen to a gay guy this week, but I am certain there were at least 10,000 more important things which happened in the world just so far this morning than some gay guy. Media, just shut up about gay guys. We don't actually care...

Newt Gingrich's remarks Saturday night after the Nevada caucuses and on NBC's "Meet the Press" the next morning proved that presidential candidates should talk policy, not process. Proclaiming "We want to get to Georgia, to Alabama, to Tennessee," Mr. Gingrich said primaries in the South would produce "a series of victories" that by the April 4 Texas primary would make him "very, very competitive in the delegate count." Well, the Gingrich Southern strategy faces big obstacles, starting with Rick Santorum and Ron Paul. Demanding that these two candidates drop out so he becomes the only conservative alternative to Mitt Romney...

VIDEO"Uploaded by americanbridge21st on Jan 9, 2012 Though Mitt Romney has spent 5 years of his run for President mired at 25%, there is one group that is signaling their singularsupport: the Washington Establishment. And Karl Rove, the king of conventional GOP wisdom is working double-time to make sure rank-and-file Republicans know it's time to fall in line. Through his constant television appearances and weekly op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, Rove has consistently favored Mitt Romney and done what he does best: work to tear down any credible rival to Romney."

On Wednesday morning, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich told radio talk show host Laura Ingraham he could "absolutely" see himself teaming up with former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum to beat Mitt Romney. "Of course," Gingrich said. "Rick and I have a 20-year friendship. We were both rebels, we both came into this business as reformers, we both dislike deeply the degree to which the establishment sells out the American people. We both think Washington has to be changed in very fundamental ways, and we have lots of things that fit together. And the thing that’s interesting is if you take...

According to Karl Rove, now speaking on Fox News, a high-ranking official in the Republican party has declared that Mitt Romney has won the Iowa Caucus by exactly 14 votes. Update- Fox News has confirmed that a second source has verified this report and that Mitt Romney has indeed won.

by James Lewis, staff writer George W used to call Karl Rove a nickname that always puzzled me. Let’s say — it’s a fresh flower growing in a Texas cowpat. It seemed a little bit rough even by Texas standards. Now I think I get it. Karl Rove is a smart policy guy, and unlike the Obama Democrats who never met an anti-American Marxist or a radical Muslim they didn’t like, he is not an ideological throwback to 1848. Unlike Obama, Rove would not agitate to overthrow every Arab regime in the Middle East — along with the Israelis, who...

As I noted the other day, Mitt Romney’s new strategy is to send out surrogates to attack Newt. Tomorrow it is former New Hampshire Governor John Sununu, a big name in New Hampshire politics but someone whose name is associated with two of the most major conservative failures in the post-Vietnam war history of the Republican Party. As Matt Lewis points out, Sununu holds a grudge against Newt because Newt tried to stop George H.W. Bush from breaking his “no new taxes” pledge: With former Speaker Newt Gingrich surging in the polls, Mitt Romney has finally decided it’s time to...

Karl Rove isn’t officially affiliated with any of the GOP candidates, but if you listen to him, it’s becoming increasingly clear he has a favorite. We’re not the first to notice, but Karl Rove seems firmly in the Mitt Romney camp. What’s more, he’s goes on TV a lot to lob attacks at just about every other candidate. Rove has taken a stab at just about every candidate other than Romney, and on Tuesday it was Newt Gingrich’s turn. With multiple polls showing Newt Gingrich surging in Iowa, Rove took to Fox News, to undermined the former speaker: “If in...

Karl Rove isn’t officially affiliated with any of the GOP candidates, but if you listen to him, it’s becoming increasingly clear he has a favorite. We’re not the first to notice, but Karl Rove seems firmly in the Mitt Romney camp. What’s more, he’s goes on TV a lot to lob attacks at just about every other candidate. Rove has taken a stab at just about every candidate other than Romney, and on Tuesday it was Newt Gingrich’s turn. With multiple polls showing Newt Gingrich surging in Iowa, Rove took to Fox News, to undermined the former speaker: “If in...

In response to comments from Karl Rove that candidates should skip the debate at the end of December to be moderated by Donald Trump, Trump said that in his opinion Rove was “highly overrated,” and “basically is a loser.” Rove says that a Trump-moderated debate would trivialize the process “I don’t think that Karl Rove is a smart person. I think he’s highly overrated,” said Trump, on a conference call about his new book. “I’ve watched Karl Rove for years. He’s a man who is only after Karl Rove, and he’s part of the problem with the Republican Party. Rove,...

Karl Rove defends Sharon Bialek, who is accusing Herman Cain of sexual assault, because her attorney is Gloria Allred. "Credibility matters here. And Gloria Allred, while she is a Democrat and a liberal Democrat and openly so -- nonetheless, has been involved in a number of high profile cases like Tiger Woods and others where the charges have been borne out. "So this gives Ms. Bialek's charges and accusations a little bit of credibility, and that's what we're talking about here -- credibility."

It was because he was going to retire anyway, lost a favorite port town in redistricting and had a tough race last time. Was this really why Congressman Barney Frank announced today he’s retiring from the House of Representatives? Perhaps another reason was he’s no longer chairman of the House Financial Services Committee and like a lot of bullies, Mr. Frank found it’s not easy to be stripped of the power to torment and humiliate others. Brilliant, but acid tongued and generally unpleasant, Mr. Frank ruled with an iron gavel, ran over critics with delight and treated committee members and...

My nine hunting companions last weekend in South Texas didn't look particularly special. Ranging from early-30s to mid-40s, they could be mistaken for the young doctor down the street, the general manager of the car dealership, the guy who builds custom motorcycles. But they are extraordinary. Among them, they had a Navy Cross, four Silver Stars, 26 Bronze Stars for valor and four Purple Hearts. These were Navy SEALs with a combined 150 years of service and more than 67 overseas deployments in the war against terror.

This is a collection of links to bolster my contention that Dick Marriott, former treasurer and former head of the National Restaurant Association, maintains connections with the NRA. I apologize for the the sporadic way in which I will be posting links. I am baby-sitting for my adorable grandson and will be cooking for guests today. Dick Marriott is a close friend of Mitt Rommey, who is named after Dick's father, J. Willard Marriott.

Joel Bennett, the lawyer for one of the former employees of the National Restaurant Association who accused Herman Cain of sexual harassment, spoke to Wolf Blitzer live on CNN moments ago. Bennett said that in his legal opinion, what occurred between Cain and his client met the legal definition of sexual harassment. But despite repeated questions from Blitzer, he refused to specify what the alleged actions were, and he said his client would not be appearing to shed any further light on the matter. When Blitzer pointed out Cain’s vehement, blanket denial, Bennett replied, “In all my years of lawyering,...

Karl Rove said Friday that Herman Cain had no evidence to accuse the Rick Perry campaign of driving negative stories against him, arguing that Cain did "exactly what [he is] accusing the media of doing." Rove said in an appearance on "Fox and Friends" that the "best way" for Cain to survive this week is to get the National Restaurant Association to release new information about the sexual harassment complaints lodged against him in the 1990s.

"This is the biggest single Twitter controversy of the campaign. 48,000 mentions!" That was Mike Allen doing his best "look--a squirrel!" impression on today's Morning Joe. Pressed by Joe Scarborough as to whether Politico had any more details beyond its vague allegation that Herman Cain had made gestures "that were not overtly sexual but that made women uncomfortable," Allen's telling first instinct was to point to the story's popularity on a social networking site. View the video here.

Karl Rove said Monday that Herman Cain has failed to properly respond to the POLITICO report that at least two women accused him of inappropriate behavior, saying he needs to say “yes or no.” “He’s not denying, but he ain’t responding and that’s not the best place to be,” Rove said on Fox News. “If these allegations are not true, say they aren’t true and put it behind you. If not, better get everything out sooner rather than later because in a situation like this, if there is something there, that something’s going to come out.” Continue Reading Text Size...

By his own account, Rove's sights are set even further into the future than Bush's re-election. He has spoken about strategic shifts of power that happen every so often in American history. The precedent he often refers to was set over a century ago by William McKinley, another Republican with brilliant advisers, who narrowly defeated a populist Democrat (William Jennings Bryan) in 1896 and established a Republican hegemony that lasted more than three decades.

Rove is again slamming Cain (practically begging that folks demand from the National Restaurant Assoc. disclose documents) and then vigorously defends Romney against Plouffe's attack) It is transparent that he is a shill for Romney. I am getting sick of Fox repeatedly putting this jerk front and center to not so subtly attack Cain. F'em.

When Gov. Sarah Palin was deciding whether or not to get into the presidential race, Karl Rove was popping up on Fox News to talk about why her skin was too thin for the job. And when Gov. Rick Perry was thinking about his entrance into the race, Rove was Johnny-on-the-spot with reasons why a Perry candidacy would not be viable either. Now Rove’s moved on to Herman Cain, whose candidacy he’s doing all he can to sink, sidetrack, or On Fox News this past Monday, Rove did his best Mr. Rogers imitation by holding up a small dry-erase board...

Rove is very much in a “do I have to do everything myself” mode these days, which is why he’s also running the GOP’s congressional campaign as an independently funded venture. Here he is practically acting as a Romney surrogate on Fox and attacking Herman Cain, because actual Romney surrogates seem unable to.

Democrats have long enjoyed bashing Karl Rove, former White House adviser and architect of the campaigns that put President George W. Bush in office. But clashing with the longtime Republican operative and Fox News contributor is now catching on for another group: conservatives, especially those affiliated with the tea party movement. Among the most high profile of these recent attackers are former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, Texas Gov. Rick Perry and, now, Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain.

First of all, no one should take Karl Rove too seriously. He acts purely out of self-interest. Rove cares little about the Constitution, the rule of law or the country. He is only interested in winning elections because each election he wins increases his power, prestige and the size of his financial portfolio. Rove is part of the Republican establishment, who long ago decided that former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney will be their Presidential candidate in 2012 and Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) will be chosen for the Vice Presidency. Romney has the mega-money backers and a national campaign organization, key...

Karl Rove has been rather chatty of late. He’s taken a hammer to Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) over the birther nonsense and to Herman Cain for basic unpreparedness. MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell thought Rove was “trying to circle the wagons around Mitt Romney as an inevitable nominee.” While I saw where he was coming from, I had a different take. Rove isn’t circling the wagons around Romney. He’s circling the wagons around the Republican Party as a legitimate political party in the United States. Rove is not alone in this endeavor.

Herman Cain’s reign on top of the 2012 contender list may be coming to an end. That’s the impression Karl Rove gave during an appearance on Fox News this morning as he slammed the candidate as having “created an image of him not being up for this task” through a series of blunders. The conversation began with talk of Cain’s seemingly-confused stance on abortion. However, Rove then continued, pulling out an entire white board filled with missteps Cain had made thus far in the campaign. This all correlated with poll numbers that, according to Rove, show that Cain had already...

After a week of feeble attempts at damage control, heâ€™s finally hit on a savvier approach. â€śItâ€™s a good thing the voters are not looking at Karl Roveâ€™s little whiteboard,â€ť Cain said in a phone conversation from a stop in Chicago Monday afternoon. â€śI believe it is a deliberate attempt to damage me because I am not, quote unquote, the establishment choice. But why not go with the choice that the people seem to like?â€ťCain accused Rove of bias in favor of candidates with big organizations, lots of money, and prior experience in political office â€” all things Cain doesnâ€™t...

I should be fair. It’s not simply Karl Rove, but the whole GOP establishment class(which George Will says doesn’t exist,) demonstrating this double-standard in media punditry. Despite her impertinence in other respects, at least S.E. Cupp included Christie in her demanding article of Friday, but I’m beginning to wonder if all of the attention on Christie isn’t intended for another purpose. While it’s difficult to stomach the hypocrisy of those who have argued that it’s too late for a Palin entry, saying precious little about a prospective Christie entry in the same context, this could be a media phenomenon with...

Karl Rove responds to controversy over his speculation if Fmr. Gov. Sarah Palin will indeed enter the GOP field. Rove said chances are she will jump in, but was not definitive in his observation. "I mystified," Rove said about his speculation. "Look, she is all upset about this saying how I am trying to sabatouge her in some way. How do I speculate on her future." "Look, if she doesn't want to be speculated about a potential presidential candidate there is an easy way to end the speculation. Simply say 'I'm not running.' Instead, every time she pops up in...

You know what I think of Karl Rove, and it isn’t pleasant. He doesn’t say anything without some ulterior motive, and he seldom throws air-time away on loose, unfocused talk. He even makes up his own small white-boards for television interviews so he can make his points visually. No, a guy like this never says or does anything without a purpose in mind. Over the last several days, since he made his statements regarding Sarah Palin’s potential official entry into the GOP field, something hasn’t felt right about it. Two things I know about Rove are that he hates to...

Former George W. Bush chief of staff Karl Rove has been an influential GOP strategist for decades. When Rove speaks, many Republicans listen. So when the outspoken campaign manager spoke up about Paul Ryan or Chris Christie joining the race to become the GOP nominee for the 2012 presidential election, his hint about another potential candidate entering the field also raised eyebrows. "And I also think looking at the schedule of Sarah Palin after Labor Day that she's got a campaign style schedule post-Labor Day that's either going to accentuate her celebrity hood or lay the predicate for running for...

Rick Perry's "treason" comments are drawing sharp criticism from a wide range of political observers and talking heads, among them Karl Rove. "You don't accuse the chairman of the Federal Reserve of being a traitor to his country. Of being guilty of treason," Rove, who has clashed with Perry before, told Fox News (via TPM). "And, suggesting that we treat him pretty ugly in Texas — You know, that is not, again a presidential statement." Rove continued: "If Rick Perry were to be elected president he'd be saddled with Ben Bernanke who has a term. He's an independent chairman of...